The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-08-19

roun', n finally she see big bunch in
one o tn beds n turned down tn GOV.
ers-'n there wuz Bruno, sure 'nough,
jest plastered all over 18th maple-sirup,
n lookin' so shamed and kinder sorry
t mother'd . laughed 4 she hadn't bin
so mad at tn state she found things,
specially her best bed fer company. II
uz jest nacherly ruined tween tn ma
ple-sirup n tn bar. When we come
ter cipher it all out it uz plain 'nough.
Thet blamed barr got out o the corn
crib. Then he come moseyin' round
tn house t find some body { play 18th
him. n not findin' nobody he'd gun
down suller t muse himself. He'd got
t foolin' round tn barrel o maple
strip till he'd got tn faucet loose n
tn sirup come a-pourin' out Then
he'd jest put his mouth t it n drunk
till he'd got plum full. n all tn time
he'd been a-paddlin' in the strip a-run-
MIN out on tn floor till he'd got daubed
all over 18th it. Bimeby he'd got sick
18th SO much sweetnin', n then he'd
climbed in through tibet open window
fer sympathy, n he'd pulled down bout
every thin in tn house tryin' t find a
doctor. n when he couldn't find any
body he'd nacherly gone up stains t
bed, like any invalid-he' d tuken many
nap in mothers beds afore. n no
amount o whippin' d ever cured him
o tn trick, n so mother found him
there. the sickest bear you ever saw.
Well. that wuz tn last O. Bruno. Tn
rest o til family sed he made most un-
common good eatin'. bein' so nice n
fat, but never had tn heart t find
out, n / never had an other pet b ar. ~
Were there any panthers in the
woods where you lived. grandpa?"
asked one of the boys. after the bear
story had been well digested.
PLENTY. plenty o painters, but they
didn't come round ter git acquainted
very much. though. One o those
blamed varmints did come once. n we
had all We wanted, eff he didn't stay
long-that is. sill he begun ter stay.
cause he could help himself. One fall
father n mother left US young folks
alone, n went off ter tn next settle
ment ter Methodist quart'ly meetin'.
n Civ my next oldest brother general
charge o tn family. They wuz gone
three nights. We wuzn't afraid n
he'd purity good times keepin' house
'thou't amy bosses But tn third
night long bout midnight we heerd
cry like child's, n purity soon it
came closer n closer n Tige N Bose.
our two big dogs, they gunter bark n
make big fuA Purity soon Abe. my
biggest brother, got up out O. bed n
sed he knowed that wuz a painter come
up into tn clearin' ter git one o our
yung pigs. n fer his part he wuzn't
goin' ter stand no such thievin'. Eff
that painter wanted fresh pork he'd
got ter fight fer it Pigs wuz pigs.
tell We. II them days n mighty scarce
n kept close-that's tn reason tn
pig pen wuz SO close t tn house. l
wuzn't only a small chunk o. boy,
but l thought Abe was about right. N
l said I'd help. So We got down faith
er's big rifle from tn deer-horns
over the fire-place-it w alters loaded
IN stepped out careful into the yard.
1t wuz bright moonlight, n we could
see tn dogs jumpin' round under big
tree tibet father'd left standing near tn
house so s to give a shade. their hair
jest standin' up straight, n both mad
S they could be. They wuz old hunters
n fighters. n we know'd they wuz
more'n a 'possum up tibet tree. TIL
pig-pen wuz atween tn tree n tn
house. n Abe sed he knowed they wuz
a painter in the tree, n plannin' ter
jump down in tn pen n git one o. tn
new pigs. Tn old SOW wuz awful ex-
cited n gnashin' her teeth n threst-
min what she'd do f she only got =
chance. We creep along a few feet
from tn house. n looked up in tn tree
purity careful. too-but didn't see
emmy thin for a long time. till at last
Abe sed. all excited like: 4 see i'm!
see i'm" n pointed out to me. n I
looked. n on a big limb t reached over
lords tn house see two sparks, 3 I
thought. Purity soon 1 saw a long
black body n long tail to it, n tn
painter wuz a switchin' it Jest like
big cat Abe he jest gritted his
teeth n sidled up to tn corner O. tn
house. where one @ tn logs stuck out
where it wuzn't chopped of when they
built it, n laid tn old gun across it n
cooked it n begun ter take aim.
creep up ahind him n held my breath.
Tn dogs they'd got lots worse when
they saw us come out t help 'em. n
round like they wuz injun-rub-
Der. Ididn't know till father told me
tibet them dogs did tibet way
cause they wuz so sharp t they knowed
eff they didn't the painter hoped onto
en- too quick, n they he'd sense enough
t know that wasn't what they wanted
Jest then. Well, Abe he took . long
sight waz holdin' nv breath, n
jest bout tn time I'd begun to think
he wuzn't ever goin' ter shoot n I'd
never get my breath back. bang she
vent! Down come somethin' ont o.
h tree. whaek! on the ground. no.ten
'eet away from us, n fore could bat
ny eyes tn two dogs ez onto it. n
hey waz the biggest yeowlin'. n
yrowlin', n spittin'. n scratchin', n
ightin' you ever heard n your born
lays. It looked like the whole clear
n was full o painter n dogs. n hair,
n fur. n claws. Then the painter give